Motor traction-wheel.



M. B. CHURCH.

MOTOR TRACTION WHEEL. APrLIoA'rIox Hum Jun: 30. 1912.

1,090,684, Patented Mar. 17, 1914.,

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UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFIoE. 'i

1 MELVIN B. CHURCH, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

moron. TRACTION-WHEEL.

To all whom itmay come. I

Be it known that I, MELVIN B. CHURcH, citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMotor Traction-wheels, of which the following is a specification. The object of this invention is to provide a traction power wheel With driving means 10 inclosed, having a casing or sides to form the structure of the wheel with parts c0nsti-- tuting a gear rack and hub all integral. The whole of such wheel sides andcasing with gear rack blank or with teeth thereon acting as 'a. supporting side.

Figure'l shows the wheel as now inuse and as' patented in Patent 7 856,943 of .Church and Knudsen; Fig. 2 shows an inside elevation of one of the disks as now built under said patent with its many drilled holes for rivets and bolts; Fig. 3 shows my new form with dotted outline of the motor and inions as used in the old form, shown in Figs. 1; and 2; Fig. 4 shows the elevation or inside oft-he new form of integral disk and gear blanks without the rivets which are so dispensed'with. Fig. 5 shows a section with a spacing ring formed integral with the disk.

.9 Each side of the wheel is to be formed by castin pressing or drop forgin or similar method hot or cold, from metal suitable for the purpose to which the Wheel is to be put.

V A pair of side blanks with integral thick- 35 ened portions are adapted to make up a ,hollow motor wheel structure to receive the driving partsand to resist the thrust of the electric or other motor and gearing when at f work within the wheel, and also to hold annular gear racks in true parallel planes, or in other Words, in planes parallel to each other throughout thecircuitof the. annular gear racks, and improper meshing relation with the driving parts. Thetwo sides 1 and 2 (see-Fig. 3 when formed with thickened portions for the racks 3 and hubs 4 require some fitting or machining at the points .Where the axle bearings are to'be placed, and where the two sides are to be joined toocated. The wheel is then readyto receive its motor and parts "to' drive;'the sides are thenv fastened together by bolts 5 near the rim, or at the 'point'where the gear rack or blankis formedta spacing ringfi being provided to'make room for the internal gether near the point where the gears are Specification of Letters Patent. Patel l te, :M r. 17, 1914- Application filed June 30, 1913. Serial No. 776,735. v i

parts. This I have devised mainly to use in the structure now known as the couplergear truck wheel, which has an annular gear rack near the outer edge of its disk side driven by small bevel inions, one at each end of an armature sha' t which engages the gear rack directly; one at one side of the wheel and the other at the opposite side, and at opposite sides diametrically and in a slightly diagonal position in relation to the wheel disk and armature.

Equalizing means is provided in the motor between the driving points as patented by Church and Knudsen 856,943. The equalizing device caused by the action of the pinions running at high speed. In the wheel referred to, in use, the reduction of the gearing is 25 to 1,

provides for considerable variation in pitch and the driving power being thus applied direct to the rim of the wheel, necessitates hlgh speed in the pinionsand the use of a high speed electric motor in driving the slow vehicle. The drilling ot many holes and the placing of many rivets 7, a number of rowsof which are near'the periphery of the sheet steel disks, (Figs. 1 and :2) and some of such the center ofthe disk for .the wheel bearings, necessitates "the use in all of about 200 rivets in making each wheel. It was found .very dillicult to place the racks and p'inions inthe right relative position to insure proper meshing of the small teeth as the disks rotate and to hold them in that position inpractice in heavy work. The plain sheet metal disks under such. heavy strain sometimes spring at the center enough to cause uneven meshing; It was also difficult to avoid the loosening of the rivetsdn service, caused largely by the driving force of the motor applied between themn These rivets occasionally fall between the disk rack and the driving pinion, causing breakage and serious trouble, interruptions of servto avoid occasional mistakes in riveting and rivets being also used to hold the casting to ice, etc. This difficulty has also been augmented in the springing of the gear rack rings 8 see Fig; 1) which are made from east SteeL'ma hined-on all sides and then.

. r veted to the edge of the. disk and put into use itwas sometimes found that this un-' evenn'hss at the rim caused the center of the diskto spring at a, while at work, and this contributed to produce excessive noise in practice; an'd'when this diiiiculty was found after the wheel was so completely formed,- and in use, it was impossibleto remedy the 'difliculty without rebuilding "one or both of I to mean the whole side of'the wheel as the the sides,lwithits parts, entirely.

"Referring to Fig. 5, at 10, space is left between the ear blank and the spacing rmg I ll whichw ll be needed, where means is available to out the bevel teeth from the inside outwardly; and where the teeth are to be cast: or pressed in the blank in forming. the integral side. In-cases where the teeth,

are to be so formed integral by ressing or casting "it will be'necessary to ress them putqorgsmooth them in some way-and this I popo'se- {to do in the following manner:

hen-the teeth are made nearly per-feet by 'si1ch""'casting or stampingdthey may I be dressedor smoothed by -merely assembling thewheelfi-v vith its inotor and pinion's in place, and running the same long enough to grind and polish case I; may use hardened steel or carborundum pinions to' act against'the soft steel rack whichis' usually used, and to facilitate- :thiwg'rinding I dispense with the evener action so that the teeth may have the usual sliding mption foundin the meshing. of all ears prior to the invention described in the atent 856943. v-.lhisg'rinding method does not. form anypart of my present invention, but is merely described here to suggest a means for-perfecting the teeth when formed in"-casting' or pressing. the integral side; which method may be the subject matter for a later application. This 'equalizing action referred to,'- does not" assist at all to avoid excessive noise from the uneven shape of the disk or gear rings as jfoundin the 9 3 in use at present,- 'described'above, as itsaction is only with the I rolling motion and has no effect toavoid the bottoming of the teeth as the pinions'are fixed in rigid bearings so that no side movement can occur as-the .di'sk draws. nearer or leaves the pinions, so revolving unevenly.

For the grinding, above described, of very uneven teeth to iform'them perfectly, I have the pinions formed direct upon both ends of a solid .shaft Without the equalizer as explained, and this being without the armature can be'run safely at a very high speed the surface, and in such- 3. .A'hollow wheel havin annular rack on 1ts inner ace and drivm by driving the wheel iiistead of the pinions.

In the present couple gear wheel referredto, 'the reduction is 25 to 1, thereforewhen' the grinding of this wheel is to' be performed, if I can drive the wheel say one thousand revolutions per'minutewhen the pinion speed will be 25000 R. P. M. and" there being two pinions on the same'shaft the opposite disk rack gets the same, 25000 R. P. to grind its teeth. I

In many cases the teeth of the gear rack will be formed in the blank of the integral side by cutting with a milling machine orby any suitable method as is done in regular I practice in' cutting bevel gear racks.

-' Where I refer to side blanks I .do not mean to limit the application of these terms side blanks may be'. coinbined with extensions orspokes'outbeyond the side blanks and gear rack;

I claim as my inve1 '1'tion I 1. A hollow wheel having sides, each with an annular rack'on its inner face, anddriv ing connections within thewheel geared to.

said racks, each of said side's" havinggin tegral therewith an annular thickened por- .tion at the rack and an-inte althickened hub' portionlto hold said rae s inparallbl' planes and the driving connections'i u'proper working relation thereto," 1

2. A hollow motor wheel havingjinclosingsides withan annularthickene'd, portion in.- tegral with and on the inner face of each side and a thickened hub portion integral.

with each side, a rack on each j'annular thickened portion, a motor supported between the hubs of the sides and a transmitting connection between the motor and racks, said annular thickened portion and said thickened hub portionsholding the motor, transmission connection, andannular racks in proper working relation, substantially as described. I

aside with an connections within the wheel eared to sai rack, said side having integra therewith an annular thickened portion at, the rack and an integral thickened hub portion to hold said rack andlidriving connections in proper I working relat on, substantially as described.

4. A hollow wheel having a side with an ort'io'n, I

to the rack, said thicl'renedportions holding the rack and driving connections in proper 5'; A hollow wheel. having a sidewith I annular rack on its inner face,--'driving connections within the wheel geared to saidv rack, said side having integraltherewith an working relation, substantially sis-described.

annular-thickened portionv at the rack to hold the said rack and drivin connections in proper working relation, su stantially asdescri-bed. 4 1 y 6. A hollow wheel having a side provided with an annular rack and an integral thickened portion :for, the rackand an integral extension beyond the rack to support the tread, substantially as described.

7. A hollow motor wheel having a side with a rack and'an integral thickenedportion at the rack and an integral spacing flange spaced apart from said rack, substantially as described.

8. A hollow wheel haying two sides, each side having integral" hub ortions, and an annulargear rack near t e periphery integral with its supporting side, the two sides supporting driving means between them extending from the axial center and connected with said annular 1 gear'rack at opposite sides thereof.

In testimony whereof, I afli'x my signature in presence of two witnesses.

i MELVIN B. CHURCH. Vitnesses:

H. L. ALDEN, BnNnErr S; JONES.

copies of thll patent-my be obtained to: live cents each, by addressing the -0oinm1l |ioner of Parents,

- Washington, D. O. 

